A one-minute video essay on the theme “Beginnings,” created as part of the Video Essay Library Discord community collab. This piece focuses on She and Her Cat, one of celebrated anime director Makoto Shinkai’s earliest films as director.
The full compilation can be viewed here. And the playlist with each creator’s individual videos can be found here.
Higher quality version on Vimeo.
For the first time I adapted one of my text essays into a video essay, this one about the 1972 film Sleuth and its 2007 remake. I talk about how production design reflects character and how these two films take very different approaches to the same source material.
Higher quality version on Vimeo.
Just in time for virtual San Diego Comic-Con, here is my second video essay, in which I try to answer the question of why Christopher Nolan decided not to shoot The Dark Knight Rises in Chicago by exploring the life of Bruce Wayne. I also talk about the film City of God for a couple minutes, and I promise it makes sense.
Higher quality version on Vimeo.
Not that YouTube needs another film critic video essayist, but HERE I AM! For my first video I’ve decided to tackle the rough-and-tumble world of ASPECT RATIOS. Exciting, right?
I start with a little history lesson, then I move to the effects the aspect ratio can have on a story with some pointed examples. Most notably, I contrast Son of Saul (2015), shot in 1.37:1, with Blade Runner (1982), shot in 2.40:1. Then I talk about movies that play around with the “rules” of aspect ratios, both successfully and unsuccessfully, before wrapping things up.
I plan on making this the first of many video essays. I’ve already learned a lot from making this first one, and I’ve got ideas about how to improve for the next one. But overall, I think this turned out pretty well. Please let me know what worked for you, and where you think I could improve. If you liked the video, please share it with someone you think might enjoy it. Thank you!
A higher quality version of this video is available on Vimeo.